Tag Archives: sea eaglets

LA CBS tribute to Jackie…late Friday in Bird World

14 August 2026

Good Evening Everyone!

We hope you had a good end of the week and that this weekend you take time to breathe and get outside. The summer is quickly coming to an end, and we can already see a tinge in the leaves across our back lane. Today, the birds were in a big flurry around 1500. The Crow family was all in attendance, along with the six Blue Jays – and hundreds and hundreds of sparrows of various types. We noticed a lactating grey squirrel, but it was not Dyson. Since the disappearance of Brock and the other cat, Charlie, we have also noticed a decline in the number of grey squirrels. Down by half. As I have mentioned previously, there is some concern that someone is using rodenticide. That deadly poison goes through the food chain – it can even kill the hawk that comes several times a week! Please do not use it, and if you know of others who do, don’t attack them but do educate them. So read up – there is lots of information on the dangers of this deadly poison on the Internet.

I want to thank everyone for their notes while you grieve, Jackie. She was so loved, and her influence has touched so many. I am grateful for the excellent care she received, from the first responders to the staff and volunteers at the Ojai Raptor Centre. Jackie died a natural death – and whether she knew it or not, she was surrounded by love. Tributes are still being made, and many want a permanent memorial to her at Big Bear Valley. Flower tributes have been left, and I know from your notes and comments that many people have a big hole in their hearts. Luna and Sandy are fine. I find it very interesting that Jackie stayed strong until they had left the area. As you know, raptors hide their vulnerabilities. Otherwise, others will try to take their position. At some point, however, when one is so very, very sick, that illness cannot be hidden anymore, and that is what happened to our dear Jackie. Shadow will be fine. He misses Jackie. He calls out for her, but no one answers. It is not breeding season, but like M15, he will need a strong mate to help him keep the Big Bear nest. It looks like the one female, nearing five years, KD1, is hoping to fill that spot. We need to send Shadow our best wishes just like we did Bella (NCTC), Connie (Captiva), Gabby (NE Florida) and M15 (SW Florida) – to name a few of the eagles who have lost their mates in the past five years.

CBS LA has a lovely thirty-minute tribute: https://youtu.be/B2od9c1IlDo?

I am delighted to report that one female osprey, Blue NC0, whose mate, Laddie LM12, died two years ago, appears to have found another nest and mate. She lost her nest at Loch of the Lowes last year when she failed to bond with the Dark Knight. She has recently been at the Alyth SS Substation nest that previously belonged to Harry and Flora. Harry disappeared, and Flora lost her nest (or that is what it appears). Clyde is the current male, and he has been bringing fish to Blue NC0. Loch of the Lowes and Alyth are approximately 18 km away from one another. I wish Blue NC0 the best.

I want to begin with Geemeff’s summaries and videos from Loch Arkaig:

Woodland Trust daily summary for Loch Arkaig Friday 14th August 2026

Today’s big story is the Nest Two camera being taken out by an electrical storm. Unfortunately, as it’s in a remote area, it’s going to take a while to restore service but it is being worked on, and luckily Nest One cam is still streaming live. Garry LV0 wasn’t seen today so his fish tally remains at two hundred and one, but Aurora 536 came to the nest and preened quietly for a few minutes before departing. Thanks to off-nest reports from local resident LizB, we know the chicks were around today both on and off the nest, and Louis was seen delivering fish. Fishing stats guru Steve Quinn has worked out a formula for estimating deliveries by Louis during the cam outage and the Nest Two tally has been raised to four hundred and nineteen. Dorcha has not been seen on cam since Saturday 8th and off-cam on Tuesday 11th. Meanwhile, all the main events of Season Ten are available on Woodland Trust’s playlist, details in the bonus section. After a stormy night, the weather was reasonably settled today but at the time of this report, midnight, it’s raining and due to continue overnight with a low of 12°C, changing to light showers with sunny intervals and a high of 18°C tomorrow.
Today’s videos:

https://youtu.be/3abZkT-QbX8 N2 The moment the storm takes the camera out 04.29.31 https://youtu.be/e3GDrR-jrtc N1 Aurora arrives, preens quietly, no Garry so she departs 08.41.36 

Woodland Trust daily summary for Loch Arkaig Thursday 13th August 2026 

Garry LV0 and Aurora spent time on Nest One today, and he brought her one fish, taking his tally to two hundred and one. The two chicks were on and off Nest Two being very competitive, squaring up to each other, slapping wings, pushing each other off the nest and chasing, and generally doing their best to get as much fish as possible. Louis only brought three fish, all flatfish, and Amber got the first two and Juniper the third. The Nest Two tally now stands at four hundred and fourteen. Dorcha wasn’t seen today, either on or off the nest, and it looks like she might have headed south – we wish her fair winds and plenty of fish and look forward to seeing her safely back next year for Season Eleven. The weather was damp and overcast, with Nest One shrouded in mist at times, and the damp weather is set to continue with thundery showers and light winds and a low of 16°C overnight, continuing tomorrow with light rain, a gentle breeze, occasional sunny spells and a high of 19°C.

Today’s videos:https://youtu.be/Bwa5tZUn8gw N2 Amber’s waiting when Louis brings the first fish 11.48.59https://youtu.be/4C9DHUpEri0 N2 Amber gets the second fish as Juniper loses out again 15.09.25https://youtu.be/AL-CYDZL52M N2 Finally it’s Juniper’s turn and she gets fish three 16.09.41https://youtu.be/-LZhVieT–0 N1 Aurora’s calls are answered when Garry brings a fish 16.47.16

Everyone’s invited to join the friendly community at Woodland Trust’s Osprey forum, it’s fun, free and you’re all welcome:

https://www.woodlandtrust.org.uk/trees-woods-and-wildlife/osprey-cam

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Individuals throughout the UK (and elsewhere like myself) are fed up with the medieval practice on the shooting estates BECAUSE it leads to the gamekeepers poisoning, beating, and killing in the most bizarre ways the raptors that come and take a grouse for food. No one tells them they crossed a boundary – and to be honest the pheasants imported, the monies exchanged, never warrant the brutal killing of the raptors.

Reclaim Our Moors – protest walk against grouse shooting, Peak District National Park, Sunday 16 AugDownload

In the US, people are worried about changes to The Endangered Species Act. Audubon tells us all about it:

Conserving Habitat Has Always Been Central to the Endangered Species Act | AudubonDownload

As you are aware, I am a big fan of Knepp Farms and their Rewilding campaign. In their latest newsletter, they tell of the most recent introduction: “In our latest episode of the Knepp Wilding Podcast, butterfly expert and old friend Neil Hulme joins us to talk about the Knepp Wildland Foundation’s most recent reintroduction project – the black-veined white butterfly.  

Absent from Britain for more than a century, Neil discusses the specialist task of reintroducing a species that vanished this long ago and why we’re hopeful that this rare, striking insect will once again become a UK resident.”

The newsletter also brings up other issues such as the failure of national parks to provide safe environments for wildlife. There are other stories. Have a read.

News from Knepp National Parks or National EmbarrassmentDownload

Oh, you want cute. They look like miniature fuzzy snow persons! SE37 and 38 are adorable.

SK Hideaways has a cute video of the little sea eaglets. You also get to hear the duet! : https://youtu.be/QfxN_k_qH24?

Sadly, it appears that we will not have any Ervie babies this year. We saw him at the nest, but no female! Oh, let’s hope a female comes around. We love Ervie – and I can’t wait til he is a Dad.

Phoenix, from the Sandpoint nest, is doing well in rehab. He is said to be very, very feisty! He won’t leave his wing protector on…but this is good. He will be strong when he leaves care and goes back into the world. (A Bald Eagle injured Phoenix when he flew off the nest).

The females are starting to migrate in the UK. Blue 014 from the Pont Cresor nest in Glaslyn has not been seen since she had a fish on the Glaslyn nest on the 10th. Other females are helping the males fill up the chicks!

Take care everyone. Thanks for being with us. I keep saying I am going to take a day off. Maybe it will be tomorrow. I am hoping to get us on a little road trip if it isn’t raining all day.

Thank you to SK Hideaways and Geemeff for their videos and summaries of nest activities, to Knepp Farms for giving me hope for the future, to everyone who posted information and images on FB, to Ruth T for chasing down the latest raptor persecution news in the UK, and to everyone who owns a camera or posts news somewhere so that we know what is happening in the nests. A big thank you to CBS LA for a lovely tribute to Jackie.

White Bellied Sea Eaglet 28 dominates feeding

The golden glow of the morning sun kissed the branches of the old Ironbark Tree in Sydney’s Olympic Forest. WBSE 27 and 28 were sound asleep in the nest bowl while an adult was on the parent branch keeping watch.

This morning breakfast arrived at 9:20:11. It was a nice chunk of fish.

28 was up at the breakfast table right away and dominated the feeding. There was no pecking and 28 was on the left side! Well, well.

It is easy to see that 28 really loves the fish! One of the things people have noticed is that the birds actually do have preferences. Some prefer fish, others prefer birds. Some don’t like specific species of birds. WBSE tend to really love their fish!

Here is a short video clip of the feeding.

WBSE 28 is still being fed after ten minutes. Indeed, Lady will still be feeding 28, almost exclusively, for another twenty minutes.

At 9:30:11 either a Pied Currawong or an Australian Magpie swooped down on the nest. Lady alerted and both of the sea eaglets pancaked on the nest.

Anyone watching the feeding would have immediately known that Lady’s alert call meant ‘danger’ and the sea eaglets stopped everything and became very still. This is what all raptors do, as far as I know. It is certainly what Osprey chicks do when their parent is alerting.

Oh, these eaglets love this fresh fish! 28 has gotten very good at the quick snatch method as well. He is very cute.

Lady finished feeding the pair at 10:01:27. They both settled down, each with a crop – 28’s was the biggest! He is in front sort of sitting up.

Right now it is easy to tell the difference – 27 has more juvenile feathers on its shoulders and wings.

No doubt, WBSE 27 might well dominate the next feeding. But it is significant to note that 28 stepped up first and was fed – and went to sleep with a very large crop. There was absolutely not a hint of sibling rivalry other than the typical ‘snatch and turn’ of 28 at times. The ‘snatch and turn’ is often a side effect reaction – grab the food quickly and turn – protecting one’s head from being pecked earlier in the chick’s life.

These two are doing very well. I hope that the Magpie or the Currawong – as well as BooBook Owl, and others do not inflict any injuries on any of the sea eagles. In fact, some of you might remember that it was a Magpie that helped WBSE 26 last year against the Pied Currawong.

The top two images are of a Pied Currawong and the bottom one is an Australian Magpie. Sometimes you only see a blur. Those familiar with the sounds of the forest might be able to tell who caused the ruckus.

“Pied Currawong ( Strepera graculina)” by Tatters ✾ is licensed under CC BY 2.0
“Pied Currawong” by Tatters ✾ is licensed under CC BY-SA 2.0

There are decided differences between the two but a split second sweep of black and white makes it difficult. The Pied Currawong has been a constant in the Sydney Olympic Forest. Perhaps it has a nest near to the sea eagles and wants the big birds – the top of the food chain – to get out of town!

“Australian Magpie” by Lisa.Hunt is licensed under CC BY 2.0

Sadly, the Currawong did chase 26 out of the forest and she wound up the next day, after a storm that evening, on the 22nd floor of a condo building about 1.5 kilometres away from the nest. The Currawong are a big problem in the forest. They also chased 25 out when it fledged and I suspect they have done this in years past. 25 never returned to the nest. No one knows what became of her. Ideally, these two beauties fledge and return to the nest for rest and food just like the Bald Eagles or the sea eagle fledglings are fed down by the Parramatta River by the parents til they can survive on their own.

It has to be mentioned that Sydney’s Parramatta River is full of dioxins. Commercial fishing is banned after elevated levels of the toxins were found in seafood from the Sydney Harbour and the Parramatta River.

“Parramatta River, NSW, Australia” by Terrazzo is licensed under CC BY-SA 2.0

The toxins leaked into the river from a shipping container company as reported in The Sydney Morning Herald on 16 May 2009. The article said, “The Patrick’s site on the Camellia peninsula, near Rosehill Racecourse, has been found to be leaking the chemical Chromium VI, posing a risk to people and marine life.”

In 2017, 2ser 107.3 reported that the Parramatta River was a “toxic time bomb.” They said, “Fifty years of toxic chemical residue is sitting on the bottom of Sydney Harbour and the Parramatta River. It’s a toxic time-bomb and disturbing this sediment could worsen already dire pollution levels. And now sweeping developments along the shore of the River could be bringing more pollution to the already sullied waters.” While many might have hoped to swim in the river before they were too elderly to do so, contaminated storm water was pumped into the river in December 2020 causing more problems.

https://www.news.com.au/technology/environment/contaminated-storm-water-pumped-from-camellia-site-into-parramatta-river/news-story/83b1a3c9e5e5c226d687ad47f0ee982e

That lovely fish that the two sea eaglets ate this morning came from this river. It is a tragedy.

Thank you so much for joining me. These are just the cutest little sea eagles. 28 is quite the character. Spend some time watching them. Everything is good.

Thank you to the Sydney Sea Eagle Cam @ Birdlife Australia’s Discovery Centre for their streaming cam where I took my screen shots and video clip.